Denver Aquarium Tentatively OKs Bid

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, February 3, 2003

The company that owns the Ripley's Believe It or Not museums may buy a financially troubled Denver aquarium that gave up its plans to shut down after people pledged millions to keep it open.

Ocean Journey's board of directors Tuesday tentatively accepted the $4.5 million deal with Orlando, Fla.-based Ripley Entertainment. A bankruptcy judge, who also must approve the deal, will consider the sale at a Feb. 28 hearing.

"It is my understanding that Ripley's intention is not just to save the aquarium from closing, but to create an even more exciting experience for visitors," board chairman Robert Hill said.

Ripley Entertainment owns aquariums in Gatlinburg, Tenn., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., has proposed a San Diego aquarium development and is in talks to manage a troubled aquarium in Duluth, Minn. Most of the company's 42 attractions are Ripley's Believe It or Not museums, filled with strange and remarkable artifacts.

Ripley president Bob Masterson said the company plans to "spend a lot of money to market the aquarium, and to make it as exciting as it can be."

Ocean Journey, the only aquarium in the Rocky Mountain region, opened in June 1999 and features some 500 species, including sea otters, zebra sharks and greenback cutthroat trout.

Faced with about $63 million in debts, Ocean Journey in March announced it would close, but area residents responded by offering support, including $2.7 million in donations pledged by June.

In April the aquarium filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Officials had hoped new exhibits would help draw visitors and lift some of the burden, but attendance in 2002 was about 30 percent lower than 2001.